Building permits · Jun 2026

Building permits per capita by county

Counties ranked by residential units authorized per 1,000 residents in the 12 months to Jun 2026 — the measure of how fast a place is adding housing relative to its size. Jasper County, South Carolina leads at 60.3 units per 1,000 residents.

A permit is an authorization, not a housing start — some authorized units are never built. Only counties with at least 25,000 residents are ranked.

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1.Jasper County, South Carolina60.3
2.Dawson County, Georgia34.4
3.Brunswick County, North Carolina33.9
4.Wasatch County, Utah29.8
5.Walton County, Florida29.0
6.Manatee County, Florida27.6
7.Sumter County, Florida27.1
8.Jackson County, Georgia22.0
9.Flagler County, Florida21.4
10.Benton County, Arkansas20.5

Building permits per capita by county, 12 months to Jun 2026. Circle area is proportional to units per 1,000. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.

Building Permits per Capita: Top U.S. Counties
#	County	Units per 1,000	Units, 12 mo.	Population
1	Jasper CountySouth Carolina	60.3	1,776	29,444
2	Dawson CountyGeorgia	34.4	942	27,355
3	Brunswick CountyNorth Carolina	33.9	4,734	139,721
4	Wasatch CountyUtah	29.8	1,043	35,009
5	Walton CountyFlorida	29.0	2,222	76,618
6	Manatee CountyFlorida	27.6	11,165	405,069
7	Sumter CountyFlorida	27.1	3,579	131,832
8	Jackson CountyGeorgia	22.0	1,694	77,033
9	Flagler CountyFlorida	21.4	2,519	117,515
10	Benton CountyArkansas	20.5	5,885	286,528
11	Bastrop CountyTexas	20.2	1,990	98,435
12	Bryan CountyGeorgia	19.9	894	44,995
13	Taney CountyMissouri	19.8	1,114	56,202
14	Jefferson CountyWest Virginia	19.2	1,114	58,043
15	Hays CountyTexas	19.0	4,672	245,351
16	Montgomery CountyTexas	18.9	11,890	629,989
17	Barrow CountyGeorgia	18.6	1,572	84,399
18	San Jacinto CountyTexas	18.1	501	27,666
19	Horry CountySouth Carolina	17.9	6,390	356,578
20	Pinal CountyArizona	17.6	7,608	433,338
21	Pender CountyNorth Carolina	17.6	1,081	61,592
22	Madison CountyIdaho	17.2	902	52,487
23	Charlotte CountyFlorida	16.2	3,073	189,900
24	Boone CountyIndiana	16.1	1,144	71,235
25	Hamilton CountyIndiana	16.0	5,591	349,527
26	Collin CountyTexas	15.9	17,203	1,079,153
27	Washington CountyUtah	15.5	2,844	183,297
28	Harnett CountyNorth Carolina	15.3	2,056	134,718
29	Douglas CountyWashington	15.2	656	43,189
30	Marion CountyFlorida	14.9	5,633	378,225
31	Canyon CountyIdaho	14.8	3,486	235,006
32	Sussex CountyDelaware	14.7	3,541	240,668
33	Baldwin CountyAlabama	14.7	3,428	233,420
34	Polk CountyTexas	14.6	736	50,536
35	Washington CountyArkansas	14.6	3,601	247,331
36	Catawba CountyNorth Carolina	14.5	2,337	161,011
37	Ellis CountyTexas	14.5	2,834	195,509
38	Hancock CountyIndiana	14.5	1,160	80,170
39	Pasco CountyFlorida	14.3	8,119	569,211
40	Laurens CountySouth Carolina	14.2	961	67,456
41	Fort Bend CountyTexas	14.2	11,823	832,607
42	Sevier CountyTennessee	14.1	1,393	98,455
43	Fannin CountyGeorgia	14.1	358	25,436
44	Maury CountyTennessee	14.1	1,435	102,002
45	Lee CountyFlorida	14.0	10,841	772,902
46	Burnet CountyTexas	14.0	696	49,684
47	Osceola CountyFlorida	13.6	5,356	393,745
48	Johnston CountyNorth Carolina	13.4	2,946	219,042
49	St. Johns CountyFlorida	13.4	3,741	278,722
50	Deschutes CountyOregon	13.4	2,671	199,352
51	Wake CountyNorth Carolina	13.4	15,162	1,132,103
52	Lee CountyAlabama	13.3	2,332	175,126
53	Wilson CountyTennessee	13.3	1,979	149,096
54	Chatham CountyGeorgia	13.1	3,883	296,266
55	Franklin CountyNorth Carolina	13.1	910	69,680
56	Potter CountyTexas	12.9	1,519	117,905
57	Rockwall CountyTexas	12.8	1,420	110,631
58	Iron CountyUtah	12.7	740	58,068
59	Elbert CountyColorado	12.7	335	26,457
60	Wakulla CountyFlorida	12.6	425	33,732
61	Currituck CountyNorth Carolina	12.6	360	28,616
62	Taylor CountyTexas	12.5	1,792	143,029
63	Citrus CountyFlorida	12.5	1,941	155,173
64	Bulloch CountyGeorgia	12.3	983	79,829
65	Arlington CountyVirginia	12.2	2,887	235,845
66	Sarasota CountyFlorida	12.1	5,331	439,392
67	Durham CountyNorth Carolina	12.1	3,932	325,101
68	Spartanburg CountySouth Carolina	12.1	3,980	330,119
69	Dane CountyWisconsin	12.0	6,710	559,891
70	Carroll CountyGeorgia	11.9	1,429	120,060
71	Sheridan CountyWyoming	11.9	371	31,176
72	Kendall CountyTexas	11.9	538	45,376
73	Comal CountyTexas	11.8	1,956	165,201
74	Brazos CountyTexas	11.7	2,744	234,548
75	York CountySouth Carolina	11.6	3,288	282,987
76	Johnson CountyTexas	11.6	2,113	182,690
77	Buncombe CountyNorth Carolina	11.5	3,097	269,449
78	Sarpy CountyNebraska	11.5	2,197	191,272
79	Gallatin CountyMontana	11.4	1,370	119,685
80	Lake CountyFlorida	11.4	4,423	386,829
81	Robertson CountyTennessee	11.4	835	73,297
82	Berkeley CountySouth Carolina	11.4	2,630	231,419
83	Union CountyOhio	11.2	713	63,411
84	Tippecanoe CountyIndiana	11.1	2,070	186,955
85	Union CountyNorth Carolina	11.0	2,641	240,109
86	Berkeley CountyWest Virginia	11.0	1,351	123,283
87	Montgomery CountyTennessee	10.9	2,433	222,305
88	Grayson CountyTexas	10.9	1,497	137,008
89	Alamance CountyNorth Carolina	10.9	1,876	171,779
90	Richmond (Independent City)Virginia	10.9	2,479	227,171
91	Botetourt CountyVirginia	10.9	367	33,734
92	Marshall CountyTennessee	10.8	373	34,567
93	Troup CountyGeorgia	10.8	750	69,527
94	Minnehaha CountySouth Dakota	10.8	2,132	197,742
95	Denton CountyTexas	10.8	9,859	914,870
96	Gaston CountyNorth Carolina	10.7	2,457	228,972
97	Hoke CountyNorth Carolina	10.7	563	52,612
98	Santa Rosa CountyFlorida	10.7	2,022	188,994
99	Marshall CountyMississippi	10.7	363	33,980
100	Weld CountyColorado	10.7	3,540	331,466

Top 100 of 1,586 ranked counties. Every row links to that geography’s full monthly permit history.

Other permit rankings

Metro areas with the most building permitsMetropolitan and micropolitan areas ranked by housing units authorized over the last 12 months.Counties with the most building permitsU.S. counties ranked by housing units authorized over the last 12 months.Building permits per capita by metro areaMetro areas ranked by units authorized per 1,000 residents — the housing-supply rate.Fastest-growing housing markets by building permitsMetro areas with the largest year-over-year increase in permitted units, same window both years.Housing markets with the steepest permit declinesMetro areas with the largest year-over-year drop in permitted units, same window both years.Metro areas where multifamily is the biggest share of new housingMetro areas ranked by the share of permitted units in buildings with 5 or more units — share, not volume.

Go deeper

Every metro area →Monthly permit history for all metropolitan and micropolitan areas.Home sale prices →County median sale prices — pair supply with what the market is clearing at.Fair Market Rents →HUD rents by county, metro, and bedroom count — the rent side of the same market.

Building permits by state

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii All states →

Building permits per capita by county — FAQ

Which county permits the most housing per capita?+

Among counties with at least 25,000 residents, Jasper County, South Carolina permitted 60.3 housing units per 1,000 residents over the 12 months to Jun 2026.

Why exclude counties under 25,000 people?+

Small denominators dominate per-capita rankings: a county of 400 residents that permits three homes registers 7.5 units per 1,000 and outranks every real housing market. The floor keeps the ranking about housing supply rather than arithmetic.

Where does the population figure come from, and how current is it?+

It is the population published with HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents, which carries a 2023 base year — roughly three years older than the permit window. HUD derives it from Census estimates and holds it fixed for the fiscal year, while the permit counts run through Jun 2026 — so read these as units per 1,000 residents as of that base year, not as of today. Counties that have grown quickly since then rank higher than a current population would put them.

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